Coinbase (COIN) has launched its new prediction market platform for US users, allowing them to trade the results of real-world events, including elections, sports, collectibles and economic indicators.
The platform, announced in December, is built in partnership with Kalshi, a US-regulated prediction market operator recently valued at $11 billion. Kalshi offers event-based contracts that work like simplified derivatives: traders buy “yes” or “no” positions on specific outcomes, and the price of each contract reflects the probability assigned by the market.
The launch, which the crypto exchange announced in a post on X on Wednesday, brings prediction markets to Coinbase’s US user base for the first time, just in time for one of the biggest sporting events of the year, the Super Bowl.
Prediction markets have gained renewed attention in the past year with many new entrants competing in the market. Trading volumes on platforms like Polymarket have increased as more users seek to express political and economic opinions through on-chain financial products. These markets are often used to gauge public sentiment and probabilities in real time, and are treated by some investors as alternative data sources.
Coinbase’s entry into this space could give the sector a significant boost in visibility and liquidity, particularly as it offers access to users through an existing regulated platform. The cryptocurrency exchange has long said it wants to become an “everything exchange,” and the launch of prediction markets marks its latest step in that direction.
